Increase your RAM.

If you haven’t increased your system Random Access Memory (RAM) you may want to do this. RAM isn’t nearly as expensive as it used to be and it will increase your printing and program running speed if you are a little low in this area. If for example your computer came with 512mb of RAM, and you are using Photoshop while connected to the internet too, you definitely need a RAM boost. A 1 gig or 2 gig RAM upgrade is inexpensive and you should see a nice change. RAM is needed to store the image in memory as it is written to the hard drive whether it is for temporary or saved storage.

Update your printer driver.

Most likely your printer driver was outdated before you ever got your new printer out of the box. Printer drivers can have a lot to do with print speed. It is a good idea to check for updates on a regular basis. A good time to remember to do this is whenever you see your computer updating other things such as security updates. Save a bookmark in your favorite’s folder to the correct page on the manufacturer's Web site. It only takes a few minutes to check for these free updates and you may like the improvements.

Free up disk space.

Freeing up disk space by deleting unnecessary files stored on your hard drive and running the de-fragmenting utility could help a lot if you haven’t done this in a while. Defragmenting is good housekeeping for your hard drive. It organizes everything into nice neat spaces. Your hard drive is used for the print spooling function. When your hard drive has nice large clean spaces the print spooler will run quicker and so will Photoshop! On a PC, ‘Disk Defragmenter’ can be found ‘Accessories’ and then ‘System tools’ in your programs list. It is best to run this utility overnight as it takes several hours to complete.

Ready Boost

Ready Boost is a cool thing that is in the Windows Vista OS. With Ready Boost you can add memory to your computer that acts just like RAM. All you have to do is put in a little USB flash thumb drive or a flash memory card like the type used for your camera and put it in the slot on your computer. If you have Autorun set up on your computer when the window pops up you will see a choice that says; Speed up my computer using Windows Ready Boost. Click use this drive, apply and close. If you do not have Autorun activated on the start menu click Computer open the drive that says removable disc, when the window opens up; right-click and select Properties, click Ready Boost, click test again, choose Use this device and apply. You can use a memory of 4 gig or less and the effective increase in RAM is doubled! The $5-$10 devices work as well as the more expensive. Not only will this help when printing it will help your computer to run faster the all the time!

Use USB 2.0 printer ports and cables. If your computer doesn’t have a USB 2.0 port and printer cables, consider getting it upgraded. The latest printer models print so quickly that USB 1.0 can’t transfer the image information quickly enough, and the printer will stop and wait during printing.

Dan is owner of the Suprachrome, a company that provides "Exact Match" Fine Art quality ink to the discerning hobbyist and professional photographer. Dan divides his business hours between the companies offices in Kansas City and Chicago. All of Dan’s fine art photographs are printed on Suprachrome Media with archival pigment Suprachrome Ink. Dan is honored to be the first photographer appointed to the Kansas Arts on Tour Roster underwritten by the State of Kansas and the National Endowment of the Arts.